Wellington’s local heroes up for accolades

Quick-thinking teenagers, brave
first-aiders, resolute pedestrian advocates and a very
special 6-year-old are just a few of the remarkable
Wellingtonians who will be honoured for going
above-and-beyond to help keep their fellow Capital residents
safe.

The 2014 Wellington Airport Regional Community
Awards and Safety in the City Awards will be held at 5.30pm
Thursday 4 September at the St James Theatre, and will mark
a decade of celebrating safety and community-mindedness in
Wellington. This year the Wellington City Council, the
Wellington Police and Wellington Airport are having a joint
celebration of our local heroes.

The event will
encompass the Wellington Airport Community awards, the WCC
Safety in the City awards and the Royal Humane Society
awards. Two police officers will be receiving a Bronze Medal
from the Royal Humane Society which recognises outstanding
acts of bravery where rescuers have put themselves at
personal risk to save someone in dangerous
circumstances.

The aim of Safety in the City is to
recognise deserving recipients: people who were in the right
place at the right time to save lives, or have worked
tirelessly—often with little recognition—to keep
Wellington and Wellingtonians safe.

This year’s
nominations include an exceptional young man who swam for
hours in freezing water to try and save another’s life,
two teenagers who managed a bus incident on Manners, a
senior woman who went to the aid of an injured cyclist, and
some of our most dedicated local volunteers and safety
advocates.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will be joined by
Wellington Police Area Commander Inspector Chris Scahill to
present the awards. The event will be hosted by Councillor
Paul Eagle.This year’s winners will join the ranks of
other celebrated Wellingtonians such as the police officer
and surfer who rescued a man washed off the rocks in Lyall
Bay last year, the Strathmore neighbours who intervened in a
murder in 2012, and other tireless citizens who went above
and beyond to help a stranger or a neighbour.

Wellington Airport joins the Wellington Community Trust
and Wellington City Council each year to recognise voluntary
organisations that do so much to make our community a better
place. These awards provide a way for people in the
community to say thank you, as well as allowing those within
the organisation to nominate their group to receive a reward
for all their hard work.

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